Pursuing a Historic Urban Landscape Approach to Heritage in Edmonton

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towards sustainable development and recognising the importance of the larger urban landscape as part of heritage and identity rather than the previously titled historic urban areas (UNESCO, 2005). The following years consisted of international meetings, debates, case studies, and workshops to determine what was necessary and what details were required to ensure the success of these recommendations. The UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape was officially adopted in November 2011. Because people are moving into cities at high rates, the cities able to adapt and manage change will provide the greatest chances of success (UNESCO, 2015). According to Bandarin and Van Oers (2012), a city’s heritage is confronted with three different levels of change: i) the need to adapt and change and acknowledge the life cycle of a city; ii) different stakeholders who might be involved at different times and the resulting conflict resolution that should occur; iii) the values of heritage perception and appreciation based on the changing population, who develops the notion of what constitutes heritage. The Recommendation was intended as a “point of departure” for conversations around planning, heritage, history, culture, development, and the overall management of the city (UNESCO, 2015: 11). According to UNESCO, the HUL approach “provides a basis of integration of urban conservation within an overall sustainable development framework through the application of a range of traditional and innovative tools adapted to local contexts” (UNESCO, 2015: 11). HUL involves new ways of thinking about heritage in our communities and understanding the role of heritage as socially constructed, multi-valued and layered (Sykes & Ludwig, 2015). It connects the preservation of heritage resources with the diversity of experiences, narratives and cultural traditions tied to a sense of place or community and focuses on enhancing values attached to the place and community. This includes creating or sustaining the emotional attachment to the past and improving the understanding in social relations, knowledge exchange, and community ownership (Wall, 2011). However, this shift in perspective is still somewhat undefined and accompanied with confusion and misunderstanding making implementation a challenge (Sykes & Ludwig, 2015). The HUL Guidebook (see below), among other UNESCO developed resources, provides a toolkit for implementation. While many case studies have contributed to these documents, the actual implementation and integration steps often require specific consideration to the municipal policy processes that exist within the city. The best successes have been through relationship building with other cities going through a similar process. Since 2011, many cities around the globe have adopted HUL approaches into their planning. The World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP) holds training sessions for cities currently implementing or interested in implementing HUL approaches. These types of forums and other conferences across the globe also provide the opportunity for communities to connect and learn from a strengthened and growing network of specialists to develop an international sense-of-community and create an overall stronger program. Although HUL is a UNESCO promoted approach, its integration into cities has been somewhat slow, particularly since the two individuals (Ron van Oers and Francesco Bandarin) leading the charge in 2011 are no longer involved. As Rodwell (2015) notes, after 2011 HUL became orphaned within UNESCO, although HUL remains influential amongst a small number of trial cities. Critics argue that HUL does not provide a clear idea about best heritage practises or what UNESCO might consider ‘good’ heritage planning. There are toolkits for how to undertake similar processes, but the results are vague and there is not a clear idea of what is expected. As more cities take on take on the challenge of integrating heritage and urban change, it will be essential to capture and analyses their experiences, and to build a pool of knowledge and methods with which to inform HUL thought and practice. 7
KEY IDEAS FOR DEVELOPING A HUL APPROACH In summary, to capture what is involved in the transition towards a HUL approach, we propose the following model contrasting traditional heritage conservation with a more integrated and complex perspective. This is intended as a heuristic exercise, and our intent is not to polarize the two approaches, or to dismiss conservation and its contribution to heritage planning. Rather, our model sets out some key ideas for creatively exploring and inspiring a dynamic conversation around HUL in Edmonton. A Landscape Level Approach Where traditional approaches have focused on narrow range of built form, HUL opens the idea of heritage to include not only physical structures, but a much wider range of urban attributes. This could include elements of the natural environment, the economy, or a cultural activity. Good practice implies integrating and balancing heritage attributes, and their values, in ways which support open and balanced forms of urban change. Intersections of the Tangible and Intangible Aspects of Cities Contemporary perspectives of heritage are often today more aware of heritage as a social construct are far more inclusive than ever before (Sykes & Ludwig, 2015). This includes the recognition of the values of intangible heritage to positive forms of heritage conservation and urban development. Intangibles are those traditions and living expressions of the past which have been passed into the present (Jigyasu, 2015) and shape our values of heritage in the present (Bandarin and van Oers, 2012: 49). These are the processes by which historical meanings are given to places, the stories we tell about them, and the ways in which we live and experience the city. Yet, intangibles have mostly been less sought after and poorly integrated within urban heritage planning. They are difficult to collect, manage and preserve, as well as being multiple and uncertain. The inability to touch, or physically recreate heritage narratives has made their value seem less than that of the built or material heritage. This is a particularly challenging proposition when, as Charles Landry (2006) describes, we have lost our ability to recognise or speak about them. By integrating intangible and tangible heritage values, there is an ability to determine what is required to collect the stories themselves or to support those people who collect and maintain the stories and memories that are attached to the built heritage. Paying attention to intangibles as Jigyasu (2015: 130-135) argues is essential to attending to the diversity of cultural heritage in cities, and necessary for fostering inclusiveness and mutual respect between communities. Community-Based and Engaged Where traditional heritage planning has prefaced the role of experts and local elites (Sykes & Ludwig, 2015) in the designation and protection of urban heritage, HUL highlights the importance of engagement. Heritage projects should evolve within the community, as opposed to being developed for the community. Publics can be integral and knowledgeable partners, able to shape and place narratives as well as inform heritage sensitive development. HUL prompts the innovation of more active forms of engagement (see for example Healey, 1997). HUL suggests a need to create space for communities to actively contribute to the future of the city and through this process build positive relationships between communities and between past, present and future. Most communities are the culmination of layered identities that evolved over time. Empowering community 8
Page 1 and 2: Pursuing a Historic Urban Landscape
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........
Page 5 and 6: HUL approaches in Edmonton. Issues
Page 7 and 8: modern [heritage] charters… were
Page 9: usefulness resides in the notion th
Page 13 and 14: down planning activities to include
Page 15 and 16: MAPPING Mapping can be an important
Page 17 and 18: PRIORITIZING CONSERVATION AND DEVEL
Page 19 and 20: To do this, the city provides promo
Page 21 and 22: existing properties. This includes,
Page 23 and 24: “These gatherings have been a gra
Page 25 and 26: successful advocacy for the constru
Page 27 and 28: The West Rossdale area is an area w
Page 29 and 30: 5. MOVING FORWARD As mentioned at t
Page 31 and 32: considers cultural diversity and cr
Page 33 and 34: esults from Main Street successes a
Page 35 and 36: Griesbach The Canadian Forces Base
Page 37 and 38: City of Edmonton (2017b) River Cros
Page 39 and 40: Shipley, R. (2004) Townscape Herita
Page 41 and 42: FURTHER READING Agisheva, S. (2015)
Page 43: ABOUT US Both the City-Region Studi

Pursuing a Historic Urban Landscape Approach to Heritage in Edmonton

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